bankrupted beggar Pentagon report crying alarm @ congress! We need Money! PLA Navy has 49 warships more than US Navy! Help! $$$! MAGA!

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https://mil.news.sina.com.cn/china/2019-12-25/doc-iihnzhfz8156167.shtml

美报告：中国海军舰艇数量世界第一 比美军还多49艘

2019年12月25日 10:08 环球时报



0


美国海军研究协会网站23日刊发了美国国会最新报告，详细介绍中国海军近年来的巨大变化，　在详细列举了中国海军的高速发展成果后，该报告将注意力集中到中美海军的对比上。“中国海军已成为该地区最大的海上力量，拥有超过300艘水面战斗舰艇、潜艇、两栖舰艇和特种平台。到2019年，中国海军拥有4艘战略核潜艇、6艘攻击核潜艇、50艘常规潜艇、1艘航母（未列入刚服役的山东舰）、33艘驱逐舰、54艘护卫舰、42艘巡逻舰、86艘近岸导弹艇、59艘两栖舰艇，总数为335艘，这还不算军辅船、保障舰艇以及隶属海警的248艘舰艇”。

作为对比，2019年美国海军拥有286艘各类舰艇，其中包括支援保障舰船，但没有统计巡逻艇。“2019年的这个数字比中国少了49艘。而在2005年，美国海军舰艇总数比中国多出75艘”。报告焦虑地表示，从2005年开始，中国海军舰艇数量逐年递增，而美国海军舰艇数量基本保持280艘左右。
报告提到，中美海军的实力不能只是简单地对比舰艇数量，但它的确大致体现中美海军的力量变化趋势。如果详细探讨两国海军新增舰艇会发现，美国海军新旧舰艇采用“一对一”的交接模式，中国海军不但正用新锐大型舰艇快速取代老式小型舰艇，例如中国潜艇部队规模虽然基本不变，但现代化程度已大幅提升，而且在此基础上，中国海军驱逐舰总数新增12艘、护卫舰增加11艘、两栖舰艇增加17艘，这些新增舰艇很大程度上改变了中国海军的舰艇组成结构。


https://mil.news.sina.com.cn/china/2019-12-25/doc-iihnzahi9814488.shtml

新浪军事 > 中国军情>正文





美国会报告：中国正建造第3艘航母 第4艘2年内开工

2019年12月25日 10:04 环球时报



0

美国海军研究协会网站23日刊发了美国国会最新报告，详细介绍中国海军近年来的巨大变化，并宣称“中国海军成为美国海军在西太平洋上的最主要挑战”。
这份国会报告详细介绍了中国海军现代化的最新成果，包括反舰弹道导弹、反舰巡航导弹、潜艇、水面舰艇、飞机、无人平台等。其中重点介绍的第一种中国新型武器是反舰弹道导弹，这也体现出美国对这种武器的高度关注。除了之前备受关注的“东风-21D”和“东风-26”反舰弹道导弹外，报告还提到“中国正在发展高超音速滑翔器，如果将其综合到反舰弹道导弹中，中国反舰弹道导弹将更难以拦截”。报告同时还提到“鹰击-18”反舰巡航导弹，称装备这类远程打击武器的中国舰艇数量远超美国海军。
报告重点提及的第二种武器是潜艇。预计2020年中国将拥有65艘到70艘各类潜艇，包括最先进的“元”级常规潜艇、“商”级攻击核潜艇与“晋”级战略核潜艇。其中“晋”级战略核潜艇可携带12枚“巨浪-2”潜射导弹，更先进的“巨浪-3”导弹也在研制中。
在航母方面，报告称，除了2012年服役的中国首艘航母辽宁舰、今年12月17日入列的国产航母山东舰外，“中国第三艘航母正在建造中，第四艘航母最早将于2021年开建。这两艘航母仍采用常规动力，但中国未来或将发展核航母”。报告还详细列举了解放军055型大型驱逐舰、新型护卫舰和两栖攻击舰的快速发展。正是依托这些新型舰艇，“中国海军在过去30个月的远洋部署次数，超过了过去30年之和”。


关键字 : 中国航母

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US report: China has the largest number of naval vessels in the world, 49 more than US forces


December 25, 2019 10:08 Global Times



0



The website of the United States Naval Research Association published the latest report of the US Congress on the 23rd, detailing the great changes in the Chinese navy in recent years. After enumerating the high-speed development achievements of the Chinese navy in detail, the report focused on the comparison between the Chinese and US navies. "The Chinese Navy has become the region's largest maritime force, with more than 300 surface combat ships, submarines, amphibious ships and special platforms. By 2019, the Chinese Navy has 4 strategic nuclear submarines, 6 attack nuclear submarines, 50 conventional submarines, 1 aircraft carrier (not included in the newly-launched Shandong ship), 33 destroyers, 54 frigates, 42 patrol ships, 86 near-shore missile boats, 59 amphibious ships, a total of 335, which is not counted as auxiliary Ships, support ships, and 248 ships belonging to the Maritime Police. "

For comparison, in 2019, the US Navy has 286 ships of various types, including support and support ships, but no statistical patrol boats. "This number is 49 fewer than China in 2019. In 2005, the total number of US Navy ships was 75 more than China." The report said anxiously that since 2005, the number of Chinese naval vessels has increased year by year, while the number of US naval vessels has remained basically around 280.

The report mentions that the strength of the Chinese and American navy cannot simply be compared with the number of ships, but it does reflect the changing trend of the strength of the Chinese and American navy. If we discuss in detail the new ships of the navies of the two countries, we will find that the new and old ships of the US Navy adopt a "one-on-one" transfer model. The Chinese Navy is not only replacing old-fashioned small ships with new large-scale ships. However, the degree of modernization has been greatly improved, and on this basis, the total number of Chinese navy destroyers has increased by 12, the number of frigates has increased by 11, and the number of amphibious ships has increased by 17, these new ships have largely changed the structure of the Chinese Navy's ships.



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US meeting reports: China is building the third aircraft carrier


December 25, 2019 10:04 Global Times



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The US Naval Research Association website published the latest report of the US Congress on the 23rd, detailing the great changes in the Chinese Navy in recent years, and proclaiming that "the Chinese Navy has become the most important challenge for the US Navy in the Western Pacific.

This congressional report details the latest achievements of the modernization of the Chinese Navy, including anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, submarines, surface ships, aircraft, and unmanned platforms. The first new type of Chinese weapon that was highlighted was the anti-ship ballistic missile, which also reflects the United States' high attention to this weapon. In addition to the "Dongfeng-21D" and "Dongfeng-26" anti-ship ballistic missiles that have received much attention before, the report also mentioned that "China is developing a hypersonic glider. If it is integrated into anti-ship ballistic missiles, Chinese anti-ships Ballistic missiles will be more difficult to intercept. " The report also mentions the "Eagle Strike-18" anti-ship cruise missile, saying that the number of Chinese ships equipped with such long-range strike weapons far exceeds the US Navy.

The second weapon highlighted in the report is the submarine. It is estimated that China will have 65 to 70 submarines of various types in 2020, including the most advanced "Yuan" class conventional submarines, "Shang" class attack nuclear submarines and "Jin" class strategic nuclear submarines. Among them, the "Jin" class strategic nuclear submarine can carry 12 "Julang-2" submarine-launched missiles, and the more advanced "Julang-3" missile is also under development.

In terms of aircraft carriers, the report states that in addition to China ’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning, which was commissioned in 2012, and the domestic aircraft carrier Shandong, which was listed on December 17, this year, “China ’s third aircraft carrier is under construction, and the fourth aircraft carrier will soon Construction will start in 2021. These two carriers will still use conventional power, but China may develop nuclear carriers in the future. " The report also detailed the rapid development of the PLA 055 large destroyer, new frigates and amphibious assault ships. Relying on these new ships, "the number of ocean deployments by the Chinese Navy in the past 30 months exceeds the sum of the past 30 years."


Keywords: Chinese aircraft carrier

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https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-army-navy/






The China Challenge

• Ruling the Waves

The China challenge

Ruling the Waves

China’s vast fleet is tipping the balance in the Pacific
The Chinese navy, which is growing faster than any other major fleet, now controls the seas off its coast. Once dominant, the United States and its allies sail warily in these waters. A former U.S. naval officer says China's advances have caught America napping.










By DAVID LAGUE in TAIPEI and BENJAMIN KANG LIM
Graphics by WEIYI CAI, HAN HUANG and SIMON SCARR
Illustrations by CHRISTIAN INTON
Filed April 30, 2019, 11 a.m. GMT


中文 (Read in Chinese) | 日本語版 (Read in Japanese)
A generation ago, from mid-1995 into early 1996, China lobbed missiles in the waters around Taiwan as the self-governing island prepared to hold its first fully democratic presidential election. Washington forcefully intervened to support its ally, sending two aircraft carrier battle groups to patrol nearby. The carriers, then as now the spearhead of American power, intimidated Beijing. The vote went ahead. The missiles stopped.
Today, with tension again running high, Washington still backs Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping on January 2 renewed Beijing’s longstanding threat to use force if necessary to restore mainland control over the island. But the United States is now sending much more muted signals of support.
On Sunday, American ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait. This was the seventh passage of U.S. warships through the narrow, strategically sensitive waterway since July. Each time, though, just two U.S. vessels have ventured through; this week, it was a pair of destroyers. No powerful flotillas and certainly no aircraft carriers. It has been more than 11 years since an American carrier traversed the Taiwan Strait.
“The Trump administration faces a dilemma,” said Chang Ching, a retired Taiwan naval captain and researcher at the Taipei-based Society for Strategic Studies. “They want to send smart, calibrated signals to Beijing without causing an overreaction or misunderstanding.”
This caution is typical of the restraint the U.S. and allied navies, including Japan and Australia, now display in international waters near the Chinese coast, according to more than 10 current and former senior U.S. and Western military officials.
China now rules the waves in what it calls the San Hai, or “Three Seas”: the South China Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea. In these waters, the United States and its allies avoid provoking the Chinese navy.

Beijing



Chinese naval bases



U.S. military bases



JAPAN



Yellow

Sea



Qingdao



North Sea Fleet

headquarters



CHINA



East

China

Sea



Ningbo



East Sea Fleet

headquarters



Okinawa



TAIWAN



Zhanjiang



South Sea Fleet

headquarters



South

China

Sea



Pacific Ocean



Guam



PHILIPPINES



500 km




Sources: Federation of American Scientists (FAS); U.S. Navy; United States Forces Japan; United States Forces Korea; U.S Department of Defense; Marine Regions, Flanders Marine Institute; Natural Earth



In just over two decades, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese military, has mustered one of the mightiest navies in the world. This increased Chinese firepower at sea - complemented by a missile force that in some areas now outclasses America’s - has changed the game in the Pacific. The expanding naval force is central to President Xi Jinping’s bold bid to make China the preeminent military power in the region. In raw numbers, the PLA navy now has the world’s biggest fleet. It is also growing faster than any other major navy.
“We thought China would be a great pushover for way too long, and so we let them start the naval arms race while we dawdled,” said James Holmes, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and a former U.S. Navy surface warfare officer.
China’s Ministry of National Defense, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Pentagon did not respond to questions from Reuters.


China’s expanding navy

Modern

submarines



50 vessels



Modern

frigates



40



30



Modern

destroyers



20



10



0



1985



1990



1995



2000



2005



2010



2016



2018




Sources: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

For the United States, the stakes are now much higher in any operation to support its regional allies, including Japan and Taiwan. America now faces daunting obstacles to any efforts to reinforce heavily outgunned Taiwan in a crisis. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province and is currently building an amphibious force that could give it the capacity to launch an invasion of the island.
Senior Asian defense and security officials say the PLA’s naval advances have introduced a new uncertainty in such scenarios: If Beijing can sow serious doubt about whether Washington will intervene against China, it would undermine the value of U.S. security guarantees in Asia.
In November, a bipartisan commission set up by Congress to review the Trump administration’s national defense strategy reported that in a war with China over Taiwan, “Americans could face a decisive military defeat.”
As China gains confidence that it can dominate its near seas, it intends to challenge the dominance of the U.S. Navy in distant waters, too, in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, according to U.S and Chinese military officials.

A fleet of Chinese vessels escorts the aircraft carrier Liaoning, a refurbished former Soviet-era vessel, in the South China Sea in March last year. Planet Labs/Handout via REUTERS

Satellite imagery of Chinese dockyards, reports in China’s state-controlled media and assessments of U.S. and other foreign naval experts show the PLA navy is expanding as fast as shipyards can weld hulls together. This emerging blue water fleet was just a dream for the early commanders of the communist navy born in 1949, during the closing stages of the nation’s civil war. Then, the People’s Liberation Army assembled a motley collection of conscripted fishing boats and vessels defecting from the Nationalists.
Since 2014, China has launched more warships, submarines, support ships and major amphibious vessels than the entire number of ships now serving in the United Kingdom’s fleet, according to an analysis from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies published in May last year. Between 2015 and 2017, China launched almost 400,000 tonnes of naval vessels, about twice the output of U.S. shipyards in that period, the IISS said.


China overtakes America

400,000 tonnes



Chinese naval shipyards have accelerated their output in recent years



300,000



U.S.



200,000



100,000



CHINA



0



’00-’02



’03-’05



’06-’08



’09-’11



’12-’14



’15-’17




Source: International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

The PLA navy now has about 400 warships and submarines, according to U.S. and other Western naval analysts. By 2030, the Chinese navy could have more than 530 warships and submarines, according to a projection in a 2016 U.S. Naval War College study.
A shrunken and overworked U.S. Navy, which has ruled the oceans virtually unchallenged since the end of the Cold War, had 288 warships and submarines at the end of March, according to the Pentagon.
Globally, the U.S. Navy remains the dominant maritime force, the power that keeps the peace and maintains freedom of navigation on the high seas. Chinese military and political figures say that while their nation’s fleet has more ships, America has more powerful ones, and overall supremacy at sea.
“The Chinese navy is at least three decades behind the United States,” a retired Chinese naval officer told Reuters, requesting anonymity. “It is too early for the United States to fret.”
China, however, has established dominance in the waters closest to its coast.

Ending China’s humiliation

The regular, highly publicized launch of new warships is a powerful political weapon for Xi Jinping. For a domestic audience, modern aircraft carriers, destroyers and submarines are hard evidence that what Xi describes as the “Chinese dream,” his vision of a strong, rejuvenated nation, is becoming reality.
Almost immediately after taking power in late 2012, Xi began a series of high profile visits to naval bases and voyages at sea on sleek, new warships. In documentary footage and news reports, he is piped aboard to the salutes of immaculately turned out officers and crew. Underway, he peers into the distance from the bridge through bulky naval binoculars, climbs ladders between decks and shares meals with sailors.
Last spring, he watched a giant exercise in the South China Sea, where a flotilla of 48 warships assembled in formation. Half of these vessels had been commissioned since Xi took power, state-controlled media reported. The highlight was the launch of jet fighters from China’s first aircraft carrier: the 60,000-tonne Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-era flat top that has served as a test bed for carrier operations. The Chinese navy has launched a second carrier as well, which is now in sea trials and expected to join the fleet this year, according to U.S. officials.

China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, takes part in a military display in the South China Sea in April last year, accompanied by warships and fighter jets. REUTERS/Stringer

A key message in the official coverage of Xi’s voyages: A vigilant navy under his command will guard against a repeat of the century of humiliation that began with the First Opium War in 1839, and during which European colonial powers and Japanese invaders took cruel advantage of a vulnerable China.
Every Chinese school child learns that China’s suffering arose partly because of the lack of a modern navy. Infamously, in the final years of the Qing Dynasty, the Empress Dowager diverted funds earmarked for naval modernization to building a new Summer Palace. This contributed to China’s heavy defeat in the 1894-95 war with Japan, in which a rising Japanese navy smashed the Chinese fleet.
While Beijing’s repeated references to these past humiliations have propaganda value, invasion is now regarded as a highly unlikely threat, according to military strategy documents published by the Chinese government. Instead, China needs to prepare for high intensity conflict in its near seas, these documents say.
It is not spelled out exactly how these conflicts would arise. But officers from the U.S. and other foreign militaries say they have no doubt Beijing is referring to clashes over Taiwan or disputed territories in China’s near seas. This strategy is driving a shift away from Beijing’s traditional emphasis on land forces. It marks a historic transformation for an ancient continental power that for millenia feared armies encroaching overland from the north and west.

Chinese sailors peer inside a military vessel featuring a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping, during an open day celebrating the 19th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to Chinese sovereignty from British rule (top); Chinese troops patrol in the Spratly Islands, known in China as the Nansha Islands. The sign reads, “Nansha is our national land, sacred and inviolable.” (bottom left); Soldiers of the PLA Marine Corps train at a military base in the western region of Xinjiang (bottom right). REUTERS/Stringer



Xi has elevated the status of the navy within what is the world’s biggest military. In an unprecedented move for what has been an army-dominated force, a senior naval officer, Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai, was appointed in 2017 to head China’s Southern Theater Command, one of the country’s five regional commands.
Under Xi, the Communist Party has also opened the funding tap. Between 2015 and 2021, total military outlays are projected to jump 55 percent from $167.9 billion to $260.8 billion, according to a report last year that the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission ordered from Jane’s By IHS Markit, a defense information company. Over the same period, the navy’s share of this budget is expected to increase 82 percent, from $31.4 billion to $57.1 billion, the report said.



The Chinese leader has set a clear direction for the navy to become a truly global force that would protect the country’s vast seaborne trade and expanding international interests. In its 2015 White Paper on defense, China said its navy would gradually shift its focus from defending its offshore waters to operations in the open seas.
For now, many of China’s warships are smaller vessels, including a big fleet of fast missile-attack craft. But Chinese shipyards are launching surface warships that are closing the gap in size, quality, and capability with the best of their foreign counterparts, according to interviews with veterans of the U.S., Taiwanese and Australian navies. China’s big fleet of conventional and nuclear submarines is also improving rapidly, they say.


Aircraft carriers
The U.S. fleet of nuclear powered aircraft carriers are the backbone of America's naval power. China's navy is in the early stages of building and deploying an effective carrier force, with one carrier deployed and a second soon to come.

CHINA

CHINA



U.S.



Liaoning



Gerald Ford class



Nimitz

class



U.S.



Amphibious assault ships
These vessels, in reality smaller aircraft carriers with fighters and helicopters, allow the United States to deploy marines with their heavy equipment and support them with air power.

CHINA

U.S.



Missile submarines
The role of these big, nuclear-powered submarines is to patrol undetected in the ocean depths. They can launch nuclear attacks with their ballistic missiles. The U.S. has converted four of these vessels so they can fire conventionally armed cruise missiles against land targets.

CHINA

Jin



U.S.



Attack submarines
These versatile vessels are designed to attack surface ships and other submarines with torpedoes or missiles. The entire U.S. fleet is nuclear powered while most of China's rapidly expanding force is made up of smaller, stealthy diesel-electric submarines.

CHINA

U.S.



Cruisers
China is poised to begin commissioning the first four of its Type 055 cruisers, powerful surface warships that will boost its fleet. The first of these vessels has completed most of its sea trials.

CHINA

U.S.



Destroyers
These are fast and maneuverable warships that perform multiple roles including escorting aircraft carriers, surface warfare, air and missile defense and anti-submarine warfare. China is expanding its fleet.

CHINA

U.S.



Frigates
China has a monopoly on this class of smaller, versatile warship that can be used for escorting other ships, air defense and anti-submarine warfare. Chinese shipyards are launching these ships at a rapid rate.

CHINA

U.S.



Corvettes
China has an expanding fleet of these smaller, missile-armed warships designed for operations closer to the mainland coast. The U.S. Navy's fleet of littoral combat ships is designed to perform a similar role.

CHINA

U.S.



Fast attack craft
These small, fast vessels are each armed with multiple potent anti-ship missiles. They are designed to operate in coastal waters where they could swarm adversaries and launch waves of missiles.

CHINA

U.S.

The number of vessels is based on figures from the IISS Military Balance, Pentagon budget papers, press reports and estimates from former senior U.S. Navy officers.



By 2020, the PLA navy will boast more big surface warships and submarines than the Russian navy, the former head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, told a congressional committee last year. Some American naval experts believe China could achieve rough parity with the U.S. Navy in numbers and quality of major surface warships by 2030.
Crucially, the Chinese navy already has an edge in hitting power, according to senior officers from the U.S. and other regional navies. The best Chinese destroyers, frigates, fast attack craft and submarines are armed with anti-ship missiles that in most cases far outrange and outperform those on U.S. warships, these officers say.

A different war

This firepower explains why Washington keeps its carriers at a distance. The last U.S. carrier to pass through the Taiwan Strait was the now-decommissioned USS Kitty Hawk, which made a transit with its battle group in late 2007 after being denied a port visit to Hong Kong.
The U.S. Navy and other foreign navies still sail near the Chinese mainland. But they avoid overt shows of force that would increase the risk of clashes with modern Chinese warships and submarines. Retired U.S. Navy carrier-fleet officers say that in recent years the Pentagon has also avoided sending carriers to the Yellow Sea between the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese mainland, amid repeated Chinese warnings.
An example of China's determination to control its near waters came this month, when a French warship passed through the Taiwan Strait. After the April 6 transit of the frigate Vendemiaire, China informed Paris that France was no longer welcome to attend celebrations last week to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese communist navy, U.S. officials told Reuters.
Veteran U.S. Navy officers predict any serious conflict with China off its coast would be bloody. The United States and its allies would risk heavy losses and possible defeat, they say.
This type of conflict would be vastly different from the wars the United States has been fighting in the Middle East and Afghanistan. There, America enjoyed unchallenged air and sea superiority and unimpeded logistics, said Gary Roughead, co-chairman of a 2018 review of the Trump administration's defense strategy. Today, heavy damage to or losses of American warships or major bases is a real but underappreciated possibility for the United States in a conflict with China, said Roughead, the former Chief of Naval Operations, the top job in the U.S. Navy. “We have not thought about the significant capital losses that will occur – and the American people not being prepared for that,” he said in an interview with Reuters. “Those are significant factors in the win-loss equation.”

Chinese warships launch missiles during a live-fire drill off the country’s northeast coast in August, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

Chinese military veterans and people with ties to the ruling Communist Party leadership say China’s new naval muscle is defensive in nature. It is essential, they say, to counter a hostile United States that sees China as an enemy.
“Without air and sea domination, Chinese naval vessels will just be targets in the event of conflict,” said a retired PLA officer. “For Southeast Asian neighbors, China’s navy may be intimidating, but its prowess is limited to waters near the country’s shores and too early to be a force to be reckoned with in the open sea.”
The PLA navy is growing and improving, and in sheer numbers of vessels, exceeds its American rival. But China still falls well short of overall U.S. naval power. With 11 aircraft carriers, 88 powerful surface warships and 69 nuclear-powered submarines, America deploys the mightiest fleet and is likely to maintain a technological edge for some time, according to U.S. and Chinese military officials.
In response to the challenge from China and a resurgent Russian navy, the Pentagon is rebuilding its fleet and accelerating development of new weapons, including the urgent introduction of longer-range missiles. The United States aims to deploy a 355-strong fleet by 2034, according to the Trump administration’s 2020 budget proposal documents. And key U.S. allies Japan, South Korea and Australia are upgrading their navies with new, advanced warships and submarines.

“For Southeast Asian neighbors, China’s navy may be intimidating, but its prowess is limited to waters near the country’s shores.”

- A retired PLA officer

China also faces challenges in its drive to become a global naval power. Chinese and foreign naval experts warn that Beijing faces a colossal funding burden as it adds multiple warships to its fleet. Typically, navies wind up paying the initial price of building a warship three times over its service life, if maintenance and refitting costs are included, according to shipbuilders.
In some vital naval technologies, China is struggling to catch up. Chinese shipyards still rely on foreign suppliers for some engines, weapons and sensors, according to global arms trade registers. High-profile arrests of suspected Chinese spies accused of stealing military secrets in the United States suggest China’s navy has shortcomings in radars, underwater sensors and other electronic technologies.
The PLA navy is well behind the U.S. and other navies in anti-submarine warfare, a serious deficiency, according to Chinese and Western military experts. Most Western military analysts also believe the Chinese navy lacks the amphibious capability to invade Taiwan - the vessels and skills to reach the island by sea and then put boots on the ground.
However, when it comes to dominating its near seas, China doesn’t need to match the U.S. ship-for-ship. The U.S. Navy is a globe-spanning force with offshore bases and multiple missions, including supporting Middle East operations, bolstering European allies, countering Russia’s naval revival and safeguarding global shipping routes. To do this job, the U.S. Navy has to dominate virtually all the world’s oceans.
In contrast, the entire Chinese fleet is based on the mainland coast. This means it has the advantage of being the home team. Without major global military responsibilities, the PLA navy can concentrate virtually all its forces in its coastal waters, flooding the zone inside what Beijing refers to as “the first island chain”: the arc that runs through the nearby major islands of the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo.
In a conflict in these near seas, the Chinese mainland would function as a vast, unsinkable aircraft carrier. China’s warships would be close to logistical support and the firepower of land-based missiles and strike aircraft. These forces would seek to overwhelm enemy warships with volleys of missiles and torpedoes from multiple directions, U.S. and Chinese military analysts say.

NORTH

KOREA



SOUTH

KOREA



JAPAN



Qingdao



North Sea Fleet



CHINA



Ningbo



East Sea Fleet



Second island

chain



First island

chain



TAIWAN



Zhanjiang



South Sea Fleet



Guam



PHILIPPINES





Most of this firepower was unavailable to Beijing when President Bill Clinton deployed the two carrier battle groups off Taiwan in early 1996. China’s obsolete navy, geared for coastal defense, was powerless to respond, and Beijing could only watch helplessly as the Taiwanese vote went ahead.
This humiliation was a turning point, Chinese and Western navy officers say. Stung, China ordered from Russia two powerful destroyers armed with supersonic anti-ship missiles that could take out American carriers and other warships. Two more arrived later from a subsequent order.

Building an armada

Then China’s naval shipyards started cranking. Satellite imagery of the key yards at Shanghai, Dalian, Guangzhou and Wuhan show them almost continuously crowded with warships and submarines at different stages of construction. Since June 2017, Chinese shipyards have launched four heavily armed Type 055 cruisers, which U.S. and Chinese military officials say are a match for any modern warship.

April 2018



Warships

under construction



Jiangnan Shipyard





N




Satellite image: Google, DigitalGlobe

Multiple warships can be seen under construction in one section of the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai in April 2018, including Type 055 cruisers and Type 052D destroyers, advanced surface warships armed with long-range missiles for attacking naval and airborne targets. The first Type 055 cruiser, the 10,000-tonne Nanchang, has completed most of its sea trials and will soon join the fleet, the Chinese military said on April 25. It will deliver a major boost to China's naval firepower when fully operational.

April 2018



Type 052D

destroyers



Type 055

cruiser



Type 055

cruisers under construction




Satellite image: Google, DigitalGlobe





And the PLA is building a force of modern, amphibious heavy-lift vessels that in time could allow Beijing to mount a landing on Taiwan or disputed territories such as the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China. The PLA is also training an expanded force of marines for amphibious landings. China’s marines are expected to be a 30,000-strong force by 2020, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military power released in August.
On February 27, China's second aircraft carrier put to sea from Dalian for its fifth round of sea trials, according to reports in the official media.
With the still unnamed carrier close to joining the fleet, the PLA navy celebrated its anniversary on April 23 with a multinational naval display off the North Sea Fleet headquarters at Qingdao. Xi Jinping was on hand as the Nanchang made its first public appearance with the fleet.





More on this story

Fear of blockade
In 1993, the U.S. Navy stopped a Chinese container ship in international waters. Beijing wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again.



Click to read




Rapid expansion
China’s naval shipyards are churning out new vessels at a rapid rate. This includes the full spectrum of warships and support craft.



Click to read






The China Challenge
Ruling the Waves

By David Lague and Benjamin Kang Lim
Editing by Peter Hirschberg and Simon Scarr
Graphics by Weiyi Cai, Han Huang and Simon Scarr
Illustrations by Christian Inton
Design and development by Weiyi Cai






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The demonstrators shift between their old lives and their new – school uniforms and dinners with mom and dad, then pulling the masks over their faces once more.

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https://www.popularmechanics.com/mi...2437/china-now-has-more-warships-than-the-us/






China Now Has More Warships Than the U.S.
But sometimes quantity doesn't trump quality.

By Kyle Mizokami

May 20, 2019

MARK SCHIEFELBEINGetty Images




China now has more warships than the United States Navy. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), informally known as the Chinese Navy, recently hit a landmark number of 300 ships—thirteen more than the U.S. Navy.
Although admittedly imposing, the number doesn’t tell the whole story. America’s fleet is much larger on a ship-by-ship basis, including eleven nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and an almost equal number of amphibious assault ships.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ ChinaPower project has uploaded an analysis of the PLAN versus the navies of several other regional countries and major powers. At 300 warship hulls, the PLAN is the largest navy in the world, counting aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, and amphibious assault ships. The U.S. Navy trails at 287 hulls, Russia has 83 hulls, the U.K. 75 hulls, and Australia at 48 hulls. According to CSIS, the Chinese Navy has more ships than “Germany, India, Spain, and the United Kingdom” combined.

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The PLAN destroyer Taizhou launches an anti-ship missile during a live fire exercise, 2017.
VCGGetty Images


The bulk of Beijing’s Navy includes 23 destroyers, 59 frigates, and 37 corvettes, or a total of 119 surface ships. Under the surface China has 76 submarines, including ballistic missile submarines armed with long range nuclear missiles, nuclear-powered attack submarines, and diesel electric attack submarines.
As in most cases, the numbers are quite what they seem. The bulk of China’s naval buildup has been in the area of surface ships, many of which are not suitable for long range, expeditionary warfare. Corvettes such as the Jingdao-class Type 056, for example, are small, lightly armed ships useful only for showing the flag and hunting submarines off China’s coastline and in nearby seas.

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The next ship up, the Jiangkai-II-class Type 054A frigate, is slightly larger but lacks the ability to contribute to the defense of a carrier battle group or a long-range punch. Those two ship types alone make up a third of China’s fleet.

A Type 094A Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, PLA fleet review, April 2019.
MARK SCHIEFELBEINGetty Images


The major problem with China’s naval buildup? China lacks the major power projection platforms essential to any navy destined to conduct long-range operations. China has just one carrier, and no amphibious assault ships capable of carrying helicopters and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter-class aircraft. It has no cruisers, a surface ship larger than a destroyer and, in the U.S. Navy, the principle ship designed to protect carriers and amphibious ships from mass missile attack.
Although the U.S. Navy has thirteen fewer ships than the Chinese Navy, by total ship tonnage it actually outweighs the Chinese Navy by a considerable margin. America’s navy weighs roughly three million tons more than the China’s—an enormous advantage. The average U.S. warship is much, much larger than its Chinese counterpart, making them more capable in their assigned missions and capable of sailing far from home.

The American advantage: USS Ronald Reagan, one of eleven U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, leaving Hong Kong, November 2018. The closest Chinese equivalent, the carrier Liaoning, can carry just a third as many airplanes and is strictly a training carrier.
Caixin MediaGetty Images


One reason for the U.S. Navy’s advantage: eleven nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, each of which weighs close to 100,000 tons fully loaded, giving the U.S. Navy a massive 1,000,000+ ton advantage. Then there are the Wasp and America-class amphibious assault ships, each of which displaces 40,000 tons, of which the U.S. has ten. The U.S. Navy also has 22 guided missile cruisers to China’s none, and the service’s guided missile destroyers are larger and generally more powerfully armed than their Chinese counterparts.
China’s hull superiority is no accident: it’s the result of a supercharged economy that allowed Beijing to increase defense spending by double digits for more than two decades. It’s also not over: China commissioned 18 warships in 2016 and 14 in 2017. (the U.S. commissioned 5 ships in 2016 and 8 ships in 2017.)
China is also putting the finishing touches on a second carrier, Type 002, and is simultaneously building two more Type 003 improved carriers. At least one Type 075 amphibious assault ship roughly equivalent to the Wasp and America-class ships is under construction. Finally, China is building at least four Renhai-class Type 055 warships, which the Pentagon classifies as guided missile cruisers. Not only is China poised to broaden its lead in hulls, it is also adding larger platform ships that gave the U.S. Navy its huge advantage.

China’s fleet still has a large number of smaller coastal defense ships, such as this Type 056 corvette Huizhou.
Roy IssaGetty Images


Comparing the U.S. and Chinese navies is like comparing apples and oranges, but China is starting to build apples too, and at its current rate of naval construction, the country could have a fleet to match the U.S. Navy in a few decades.
China’s military is expected to peak somewhere around 2030, as the country’s population ages and its economy slows. Still, at 2017 levels the country will build another 154 warships. What kind of ships China builds and how large its fleet ultimately becomes could determine the balance of power in the Pacific.

 

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https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2019/05/china-navy-versus-the-us-navy-now-and-through-2030.html


China Navy Versus the US Navy Now and Through 2030

Brian Wang| May 21, 2019

61
China’s Navy now outnumbers the US Navy by 300 ships to 287 ship. The US ships are still much larger and more powerful and about 100 of China’s ships are coastal frigates and corvettes. The frigates and corvettes are really a stronger Coast Guard. China needs a stronger coast guard because of the many ships of Japan, India, and Russia.
The US has 105 aircraft carriers or Destroyers versus 39 for China. The US has 20 large and small aircraft carrier ships versus two for China.
China matches the US in the number of submarines at nearly 80, but about two-thirds are diesel submarines. China now has mostly converted to modern ships and submarines.

China’s main naval advantages are
* they make 36% of the world’s commercial ships. Number two is South Korea at 34% and Japan at 20%
* China is building about ten more naval ships per year than the USA.
* China is building more big ships including aircraft carriers
Commercial Shipping and Commercial Nuclear Dominance by 2030
A significant potential game-changer would be if China furthered developed the ability to mass produce quality commercial ships and combined it with mass-production of small modular nuclear reactors. Small modular reactors would enhance island military bases security by reducing supply chain vulnerability and enable a rapid enhancement of submarines and ships to full nuclear or hybrid nuclear capability.
The US military has a long-term vulnerability if there is a very weak commercial US shipping industry and a very weak commercial US nuclear industry.
Container throughput in China will reach 505 million TEUs by 2030. They will make three super container hub ports will be formed in Shanghai, Qingdao and Hong Kong, and Chinese firms will become global container terminal operators.

In 5-8 years, China should have the largest commercial shipping fleet. They should pass Japan for number two in world shipping in 2021.
World Navies Now
China is vastly inferior to the US ability to project military power around the world. However, China does have fortified islands and a lot of anti-ships missiles. This means that China can be very competitive in any regional conflict scenario around the South China Sea or Taiwan.
The US would still win clearly win any conflict now or even twenty years from now but the cost of victory and the time it would take would be big and escalate to huge.
China’s Navy is getting to a clear number two position. Which is significant to exceed the British (75 hulls), Russian (87 hulls) or Japanese (44 hulls) Navies.
Expected Ships for China’s Navy by 2030
By 2030, China’s Navy will have over 530 ships while the US might have 300-330 ships. The US will increase ships only if they lengthen the lives of older ships and get some additional budget for new shipbuilding and for more naval personnel.
China will build three 4000 ton frigate class ship each year. They will have 24 054Bs launched and up to 20 commissioned by 2030.
By 2030, China will have around forty 7,000 ton destroyers (052C/D/E) in service and about twenty 12,000 ton destroyers (055/A). Additional destroyers will likely be commissioned and bought after 2030.
By 2030, China could have 30-40 new nuclear submarines. They could be launching for three to four per year. China might then have over 100 submarines in the fleet and half could be nuclear.
China should have five to six carriers in service by 2030 and two to three could have size, airplane capacity and electromagnetic launch systems to compete with 11 top notch US aircraft carriers.
China will have beefed up amphibious assault fleet. They could have twelve LPDs (Landing Platform docks) and five to six LHDs (landing helicopter docks) by 2030. This would be significant if they wanted to land troops on Taiwan.
SOURCES – the Diplomat, China Power CSIS
Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com